PRESERVATION OF NATURE - "Once More to The Lake" by E.B, White - English (Compulsory) For Class XI - Summary and Salient Points

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Unit-2: PRESERVATION OF NATURE
Unit 1.1: Reading Comprehension
Once More to The Lake
by E.B, White

SUMMARY

By Practical Center
Written by E.B. White, "Once More to the Lake" is an essay that reflects upon White’s memories of visiting the lake as a child and the memories he creates with his son many years later. White describes experiencing a sense of childlike wonder that makes him feel like a child and his father at the same time. In fact, this subjective creation is so beloved it is even considered his most valuable contribution to literature.

White begins by describing the first trip he took with his family in August 1904 to a lake in Maine. Though they did all catch ringworm and his father experienced a rolled canoe, the family enjoyed the visit so much they returned many summer after that. They would arrive on August 1^st and stay for one month in the cabin. While there, they enjoyed fishing and the general tranquility of the lake.

Now; White experiences the lake with his son, who has never had such an experience. Before arriving, White wonders that it will be liked and if it will have the same charm he remembered from his childhood. In a very scenic manner, he begins by remembering what he best recalls about the lake. Then, he takes the reader on a sensory tour of his memories. He describes the scents and sights, fearing that they will no longer be there.

As White and his boy arrive at the lake, he realize that his son become the child he remembers from the cabin. White understand that this makes him into his own father from those many years ago. He experiences what he calls a "dual existence" which refers to the feelings more and more comfortable, sharing the lake with his son in the way he had enjoyed it. White comments and reflects that the years seem to have collapsed. He is pleased to see that a lot has not changed with time.

White feels the only difference between his childhood and his son's experience is the sounds of the lake: various sounds of the welcoming and unpacking of large trunks versus his current moment. The other sounds White describes as different are the changes in the sounds of the beats. Here, White explains what it is like to captain the boats from his childhood versus his son's childhood.

Pleased with the happy time in the lake, White enjoys the week they spend and struggle to break the difference between himself and his son's experience. White also relishes a thunderstorms that feels the same as when he was a child.

At the conclusion of the essay, White comes to terms with the fact that he is becoming an older man, as his father did. As much as he remember being a child at the lake, this will not keep him from aging.

The essay Unravels in, a non-linear fashion. This means that the events do not occur in chronological order. Instead the past and present mix together. The style of writing throughout his essay is very sensory-heavy, Told through the recollection of White's ‘memory, the reader can visualize the lake and the space White remembers well in his childhood. The whole essay feels nearly dreamlike in its description, adding to the seemingly ethereal nature of the essity. White's style of long, flowing sentences brings to mind the sounds of small waves washing the lakeshore. The reader can nearly Picture the place White describes, making one feel as though eis experiencing the meme Actions right along with White, as though he is experiencing the memories and actions right along with White, as he experiences them through his son.

The essay is twelve paragraphs long. It contains no subheadings oF dividers but is told in one long set. of experiences. In the beginning, the reader gets a glimpse into what is happening in the essay. The memories unravel throughout the middle of it. The essay ends when White feels brought back to his aging reality. The paragraphs get longer throughout the essay until the final part, which is very short.